Environmental conditions, mobile digital culture, mobile usability, knowledge of app in COVID-19 risk mitigation: A structural equation model analysis

Central Countries' and Brazil's Contributions to Nanotechnology

Abstract:

Nanotechnology is a cornerstone of the scientific advances witnessed over the past few years. Nanotechnology applications are extensively broad, and an overview of the main trends worldwide can give an insight into the most researched areas and gaps to be covered. This document presents an overview of the trend topics of the three leading countries studying in this area, as well as Brazil for comparison. The data mining was made from the Scopus database and analyzed using the VOSviewer and Voyant Tools software. More than 44.000 indexed articles published from 2010 to 2020 revealed that the countries responsible for the highest number of published articles are The United States, China, and India, while Brazil is in the fifteenth position. Thematic global networks revealed that the standing-out research topics are health science, energy, wastewater treatment, and electronics. In a temporal observation, the primary topics of research are: India (2020), which was devoted to facing SARS-COV 2; Brazil (2019), which is developing promising strategies to combat cancer; China (2018), whit research on nanomedicine and triboelectric nanogenerators; the United States (2017) and the Global tendencies (2018) are also related to the development of triboelectric nanogenerators. The collected data are available on GitHub. This study demonstrates the innovative use of data-mining technologies to gain a comprehensive understanding of nanotechnology's contributions and trends and highlights the diverse priorities of nations in this cutting-edge field.

Loneliness and quality of life: Perceived online and offline social support among Sub-Saharan African students in China during the COVID-19 lockdowns

<b>Objective/background: </b>The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education globally, triggering fear and uncertainties for students. However, there is currently no research evidence to document the loneliness experience of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) students in China and how social support influenced their quality of life (QoL). This study explored the effect of COVID-19-induced loneliness and social support on the QoL of SSA students in China.<br /> <b>Method:</b> The study adopted an institutional-based cross-sectional survey through an online questionnaire on social media platforms to investigate the QoL of SSA students in Chinese universities. Pearson correlation matrix and regression analysis were conducted to validate the association of loneliness, social support (online and offline), and socio-demographic attributes on the student’s QoL.<br /> <b>Result: </b>In the population of 358 SSA students appraised in the study, loneliness experience was negatively associated with QoL. Online social support and offline social support were positively associated with QoL. The linear regression shows that loneliness, social support, and socio-demographic attributes explain 25.7% (psychological health), 26.6% (physical health), 24.9% (environmental health), and 30.3% (social relation) of the variance in the QoL domains. By evaluating the EUROHIS subjective QoL, loneliness independently accounts for 24.5% of the variance in the subjective QoL of the SSA students examined in the study (model 1). In comparison, the added effects of social supports and socio-demographic attributes on model 3 explained 32% of the subjective QoL.<br /> <b>Conclusion: </b>It is strongly recommended that loneliness eradication programs be implemented in these universities among SSA students who experience loneliness that negates their QoL. Interventions should focus on how these students can integrate and build social networks (online and offline) to improve social interaction and support for better QoL.